I love listening to Bird Songs from this era and this one is interesting. Phil starts of with a couple of beautiful harmonies that are absolutely spot-on. It seems like he's showing Donna that he can actually sing. But then he dishes out a warbling yodel - to which Garcia responds, "hey man!" (possibly one of the strongest epithets he'd dish during a song) Perhaps there was a bit too much goofing around for him to properly set the mood for one of his favorite platforms for extended tonal jamming.

Keith is the MVP of the Other One jam...he is absolutely TEARING shit up on the wa wa pedal. Amazing Other One with a huge space/meltdown section and a seamless transition into BP. Also, the inverted sequence with Truckin at the end of the jam is interesting, though it sounds like a full stop to me after the Other One reprise.
Awesome, 5-star show all around, but this jam is the must-hear territory.

I'm not sure why everyone is harping on Donna's wail. Is this the first PITB you've heard? trust me, there are many worse wails out there. She doesn't even give out a wail during GSET which shes been known to do a fair share of the time.
Everything in this show that I've listened to is really well played.
PITB is great. TOO > Black Peter > TOO, Truckin', Half-step is a consistently well played and quite original sequence of songs. I can't believe I've never listened to this show.

Again Donna is part of the great years imho of the dead, without Donna they lost a good piece of their band along with brining in Brent because keith left too... If you wanna talk about ruining dead songs Brent is where you should start. Way too poppy for the dead imo, but he does have his moments when he shines, but personally I rather have keith or pigpen (who can hate on classic piano and blues?)
I do have to add, I was at a DSO show this past saturday and I did like Lisa Mackey versions of Donna's singing

This entire show is great, nice and spacey.

Whoa -- Check out Bobby's guitar in Playin', especially the intro to the first two verses. Not only does he overpower Jerry in the mix, which is rare enough in and of itself, but it is
t r i p p y. That's the most out-there tenor/tonal quality I've ever heard from Bobby.

I just wish that everyone would just respect everyones opinions on this forum. Yeah, Donna screeches or is off-key on occasion, and Jerry or Bob forget a lyric or sing the wrong one. But that's part of what makes this site great and the dead great...it IS this band, warts and all. We hear moments of pure bliss and moments where someone out there listening cringes. Appreciate it for the gift it is. This show, BTW, is a smokin' good representation of 1972, one of my favorite years.

great show here from 72, some really really painful cuts in the songs, missed out on the close of el paso, most of tenn jed, the fire in jack, pretty rough...other than that great overall performance, liked gset in particular and the other one sandwich was cool as well, great bird song in there

We are all sick of the juveniles who write reviews in this forum, most of whom are small-minded idiots who never even saw the Dead, are basing their "opinions" on the tapes only, and would fit in better a ta silly little Dave Matthews or Widespread Panic show, two gay acts who coul dnever hpold a candle to the Dead.
This is worth streaming, nice Playin sandwich as a reviewer noted. Playin is short but good.

Per Dylan's post-Donna was absent in late 73 because she was pregnant.
At any rate, this show has a pretty unique jam for 72 with the Black Peter sandwich, and will be a welcome addition to any fan of 1972. For me, this show kicks off the real magic period of August-October 72.

The level of stupidity and immaturity expressed in many "reviews" on this page is sad.People telling other people that because they don't agree with them,they should'nt be a fan,should listen to other bands(DMB),it's useless because it's history.Small minded assholes.Other suggestions were to listen without the vocals,listen to a cover band,or it's must be good because of all the idiots in the audience cheering.How ridiculous and embarassing.

She is part of them in the seventies. Bitching about her presence is useless, because she is a factor in the "X". Of course she is off-key often, that is openly acknowledged, and maybe even belts over Jer and Bob. But really no member of the Dead is a traditionally trained singer. For some, Donna's contribution rattled that 70-71 three part harmony sans phil-bob-jerry vibe, but the fact of the matter is that Phil was screeching and not singing properly therefore damaging his voice, and someone needed to step in. For example, listen to select shows from December 73', Donna Jean sits out for a few because she is sick or something, regardless, Bob, Jerry, and a lessened Phil presence feel like they are lacking a certain strength in their singing. So writing on an archive blog about how Donna pisses you off and ruins 20 seconds of playing in the band for you is irrelevant. She is a part of their history, as is Brent's corny 80s songs (i love Brent), Bobby's shaky blues covers, and Jerry's up-and-downs in the 80s. Trying to claim the Dead to be a band of amazing vocalists minus Donna is also silly, since we all know why we listen to the boys... for the chance to sing along with them and let their music take us. Knit-picking undeniable facts about the bands history is useless.

`
~^|\_@|@_/|^~
~<->/<->\<->~
I love Donna.
And I am pretty sure the GRATEFUL DEAD loves Donna too.
I think this show is worth adding to your 1972 collection, I recommend it.
For easy streaming and downloading users of Windows XP should view this web-page with RealPlayer.
I am getting all of the 1972 shows on the archive, I recommend you do the same.
The "Man" could change his mind, and remove these shows forever...and what are you going to do then, grasshopper?
So, if you catch my drift, get it while you can, get it while it's free, get it NOW or you will be sorry.
Eat, Drink, Be Merry and Listen to the GRATEFUL DEAD.
Thanks for the Love from 1972.
PS: Did I say I love Donna?
Seems the good always die young...RIP Keith.

Who cares, if u let one little thing like Donna ruin a GD show for u, then u shouldnt be a Dead fan in the 1st place! The fact is, Donna was the one holding the band together off stage most of the time, so give her a break! This is a great Show.

I'll admit that Donna's screach makes my belly-button hair rise, but it ain't any worse than Weir's screaching during Estimated Prophet circa late 80s.....Haah....Haah .....HAAH
On to more serious things:
It's New Year's Day 2008 and I've been humming Black Peter (Just like any other day that's ever been) all day. So I thought I would find a good version. Like magic I landed on this one.
Peace
p.s. if you want to hear a good Donna sound, check out Dark Star Orchestra... Melody without the shreaks.
p.s.s. Keep your Love (and Freak) light burning.

LMAO @ the dave matthew fans...
I think Donna's Primal Screams of Agony or Victory fit perfect...
And yeah the people loved it!
Great show. Really in context of all 30 years of the Dead. Almost all of the '72 shows deserve 4 * or better.

All I can say, in defense of Donna and the band, is that whenever she would do her wail during PITB the audience would roar with approval. I know, I saw them 12 times in 1972 (lucky me). It sounded better in memory than on tape, but alas, that is true often in the Dead experience (in my experience thereof, anyway).

first set is avg. until a hot playin(arent they all really?) yes donna is really really bad here...even for donna this is bad.....i cant imagine a situation in which donna's...."singing".....in playin could be thought of as "good" or even tolerable...(guess that makes me a dave matthews band fan?)...you know the drill....phase it out like always........the real meat of this show is the Other One -> Black Peter -> Other one....which is at least as good as it looks on paper.....no let downs i swear......use jetaudio(www.download.com) or something like it to record this SBD from the stream and cut it up with soundforge(not free) or wavepad(free from www.download.com). fuck GDP

The only way to listen to PITB, or any of the other songs RBD, is to not listen to the vocals, or at the very least, turn them down at the most offensive parts. The music is too good to give up on, but it is a challenge sometimes. Never knew who to be more upset with. Donna for being so awful, or the band for allowing it to continue. Jury is still out. This is a good show worth having. 4 stars.

Hey little feller! Donna got ya down? Don't cry, teddybear. This one's actually pretty tame as far as that goes. A fantastic show, by the way - TOO>Black Peter>TOO?? Black Peter was not a common song in 72, the one on "Steppin Out England 72" was the only one they did on that glorious tour.
I'm sure there's some nice Dave Matthews bootlegs out there with some smooooth vocals for you candyasses.

Not to pile on the garbage, but come on, tell me that Donna's screeching doesn't mar an otherwise wonderful show? Playin' is almost rendered unlistenable. Hey look, I know Donna might have had a few decent moments over the years but it's hard to argue that she didn't do more harm than good. Perhaps the single worst example of nepotism in rock music history - no wait that was Linda McCartney bangin on that stupid tambourine.
P.S. Bite me Turd-gosouth!!! Who asked you?

this is a solid 72 show,
with a sweet Playin ---
Keith sounds great on the Rhodes
and Phil drops a few bombs

Great show amidst a good year of touring. Very nice sound quality taboot